Walking 10,000 steps daily is associated with beneficial health outcomes. Recent systematic reviews have suggested that pedometers may be an effective motivational tool to promote walking. The aim of this study was to study the effectiveness of a 10-week, pedometer-based walking intervention to improve physical activity, body composition and metabolic health indices in a sample of suburban community-dwelling adults not meeting current physical activity recommendations. After screening, 34 overweight/obese individuals (mean age: 46 ± 8 years, mean BMI: 28.3 ± 4.2 kg/m2 ) were accepted into the walking program conducted by the Health Promotion Community Centre, Bangi. Subjects were instructed to increase their steps by 3000 steps daily above their baseline values for 10 weeks. Daily step count, body weight, BMI, waist circumference, as well as blood pressure, fasting glucose and lipids were evaluated at baseline and following the 10-week intervention. Thirty-one participants completed the program with 100% adherence. The average daily steps recorded during the 10-week intervention was 9693 ± 2196 steps per day. Mean daily steps increased from 8679 ± 2567 steps in Week 1 to 10,766 ± 3200 steps in Week 10 (p=0.040). Overall, there were reductions in body weight (-1.13%, p=0.010), waist circumference (-3.5%, p=0.001) and BMI (-1.41%, p=0.008) as well as fasting blood glucose (-8.5%, p=0.003) and systolic blood pressure (-4.8%, p=0.007) following the intervention. The findings of this study demonstrated that a goal-driven, pedometer-based walking intervention for 10 weeks resulted in a modest reduction in body weight and improved metabolic health outcomes in overweight/obese, community-dwelling adults.

The paediatric rehabilitation service in Malaysia is shifting from the traditional child-focused approach to a family-centred approach. At present, there is a lack of an evaluation tool to assess to the quality of paediatric rehabilitation services, and whether the services are in line with the principles of the family-centred service. This study was undertaken to assess validity and reliability of the Malay version of the Measure of Processes of Care 20-item (MPOC-20) questionnaire in evaluating family-centered approach in children rehabilitation services in Kuala Lumpur. The original English version of the MPOC-20 was translated into Malay language, before it was administered to 102 parents of children receiving rehabilitation service at the Occupational Therapy Unit, UKM Medical Centre. The component structure of the MPOC-20 Malay version was examined using principal component analysis with Varimax rotation to explore the factor structures after translation. Cronbach’s alpha was calculated to determine the internal consistency reliability of the factors identified in the MPOC-20 Malay version. The resultant four-factor model explained 64 % of the variance in the Malay MPOC-20 responses. All four factors were similar to the five factors described in the original MPOC-20. All the 20 items were retained, with relocation of some items into a new factor. The Malay version of the MPOC-20 showed good internal consistency with Cronbach’s alpha values ranging from 0.75 to 0.90. This study demonstrates that the Malay version of the MPOC-20 is valid and reliable, and is suitable for evaluation of the quality of child rehabilitation services in the Malaysian context.
Early Intervention (Education)

Introduction: High-intensity interval training (HIIT) has been found to improve cardiometabolic health outcome as compared to moderate-intensity continuous exercise. However, there is still limited data on the benefits of HIIT on the expression of regulatory proteins that are linked to skeletal muscle metabolism and insulin sensitivity in obese adults. This study investigated the effects of HIIT intervention on expressions of peroxisome proliferatoractivated receptor-γ coactivator 1-α (PGC-1α) and adiponectin receptor-1 (AdipoR1), insulin sensitivity (HOMAIR index), and body composition in overweight/obese individuals. Methods: Fifty overweight/obese individuals aged 22-29 years were assigned to either no-exercise control (n=25) or HIIT (n=25) group. The HIIT group underwent a 12-week intervention, three days/week, with intensity of 65-80% of age-based maximum heart rate. Anthropometric measurements, homeostatic model of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) and gene expression analysis were conducted at baseline and post intervention. Results: Significant time-by-group interactions (p<0.001) were found for body weight, BMI, waist circumference and body fat percentage. The HIIT group had lower body weight (2.3%, p<0.001), BMI (2.7%, p<0.001), waist circumference (2.4%, p<0.001) and body fat percentage (4.3%, p<0.001) post intervention. Compared to baseline, expressions of PGC-1α and AdipoR1 were increased by approximately three-fold (p=0.019) and two-fold (p=0.003) respectively, along with improved insulin sensitivity (33%, p=0.019) in the HIIT group. Conclusion: Findings suggest that HIIT possibly improved insulin sensitivity through modulation of PGC-1α and AdipoR1. This study also showed that improved metabolic responses can occur despite modest reduction in body weight in overweight/obese individuals undergoing HIIT intervention.